Let’s Fly as the Birds Do…” Chapter Thirteen

8/7/01

By: Hikari

E-mail to: [email protected]

Site: http://www.geocities.com/hikari_nanase/

Notes: Music theme to chapter: “Poison” From Shoujo Kakumei Utena

                                 

~*~*~*~

 

            “What? What is it?… You wanted to tell me something…”

 

            “I did… But I don’t know how to say it… I don’t know what the words are, and yet I need to say them…”

 

            “…Does it hurt…?”

 

            “…Yes… I want you to know something, but I don’t know how to tell you- I don’t know the words!”

 

“Sshh… Don’t cry… I think I know what you mean… That’s enough for me…”

 

~*~*~*~

 

            Hiei opened his squeezed eyelids. The yelling had stopped, as did the sobbing. He hated having to remain in the guest room for so long. It was so cold there, and there was only one single window that hardly let any light in. All he could do was lie on the twin bed that was there- staring into the ceiling like a mindless zombie before all the disaster ensued. It didn’t make that much sense to him- the demon. Sure, a picture of two men kissing was entirely embarrassing, but it was plainly odd to him that it could amount to anything more than that. Kurama had spoken shortly before of such things. ‘It’s not normal.’ He said. ‘It’s not supposed to be that way because… reproduction doesn’t take place.’ If that’s the case, then why did all these ignorant humans use methods of abortion? He had read articles about this topic in some various magazines he found settled around the house. It just didn’t add up. Killing an unborn child was, socially speaking, ‘normal’, but in circumstances such as now, this relationship they had was not? The fire demon pinched the middle of his nose bridge.  He didn’t understand it. He couldn’t. In it’s own right, his reactions to human culture made sense because he only had been living on earth for so long. All the same, it was one hell of a crazy bitch to try to piece things together for the sake of taking under consideration Kurama’s ‘bizarre’ attitudes.

 

            One inauspicious moment captured on film and all of a sudden all hell broke loose. If only his lover had told him something- ANYTHING, that could have warned him as to what was happening in Kurama’s personal life. He had been left out in the dark. Completely, totally unaware of EVERYTHING, and there was nothing he could have done except wander around all day giving himself a migraine.

 

            Now that two and two finally made four, Hiei’s attempts to save the once golden secret were scathed due to bad timing. PERFECT. However long Shiori planned to keep him isolated was something he tried not to think about, but then there was an even more discouraging possibility… What if she separated him from Kurama?

 

            If she did something like that, he wouldn’t be shocked, but the very idea of it left him… incredibly lonely. “All this time…” he whispered while having his arms pulled casually behind his head on top of a pillow. “I’ve grown so close to you that it seems unimaginable for us to be apart for any duration of time… I hate you… Look what you’ve done to me… I’m helpless now…”

 

            A car drove by on the street, bringing with it false light that dragged from one end of the room to the other. Night had fallen.

 

            “Hn. It’s funny how I can still feel this way about you then. Keh’ if you hadn’t touched me and I hadn’t touched you- no one would be sending vicious blows to your back…” He pounded his fist ardently against the mattress. “If only I hadn’t kissed you then! That stupid kiss!”

 

*****

 

            The next morning, when the sun arose lazily, Kurama’s mother made a call to the school office for non-attendance and later impassively woke her son for a trip to the hospital. He was stunned to find Hiei sleeping in the first floor room, but the purpose of his being there made sense once Shiori ordered the both of them to load into the Acura. They didn’t have their usual homely breakfast, and words exchanged mostly came from Shiori. Even so, her words were curt and unfeeling. Orders. All she gave were orders. ‘Get into the car.’ ‘Shuiichi, you’re in front with me- Hiei, stay in back.’ The ride alone was tense. The whole trip was a silent one, and Kurama was actually afraid to slip a cough or sneeze. Hiei, however, remained aloof as usual. He was ready to contend with whatever was dished toward him; nevertheless, Kurama knew that Hiei’s composure was fifty-percent pretense.  Why? To downsize the matter at hand. It was a valiant effort on his part, but it did little to help.

 

            “We’re here.”

 

            Those two words sounded as if they came from a robot. When they stepped out, Shiori was already several feet ahead of them. The redhead glanced at the shorter, and the shorter- he. They dared not to say anything. Shiori’s ears were sure to pick whatever exchange up. The demon walked closer to his friend’s side, his hand somewhat itching to hold the other’s. As an alternative of doing so, Hiei’s hand brushed only distantly against his skin, and then his hand went back to his right. Far, far away from reach…

            The automatic doors separated before them for their entry into the building. The first thing they made note of was the scent of antiseptic and other medical whatnot lingering about the air. Shuiichi’s mother was already at the reception window- filling out a clipboard rapidly, and then signally the other two to sit down. It felt very weird. Sitting down alone was a task that seemed so dangerous. Touching ‘this’ or ‘that’ in the building appeared to infect you. With what was a mystery, but you were still infected. Hiei had already made himself comfortable by sitting on one of the red courtesy chairs. Kurama was about to settle next to him, when he caught a glare from his mother shooting straight across the room. He took one chair away from him.

 

            “…What are we here for…?” Hiei asked as softly as possible. For everyone’s good, he kept his head straightforward- Kurama was thankful for that.

 

            “An examination… For HIV.” The redhead whispered back, keeping his own head from gesturing.

 

            “…HIV…?”

 

            “Minnamino, Shuiichi and Hiei?”

 

            They adjusted their heads to find a young nurse pop in from the clinic door. Her eyes roamed around the facilities, which was useless since they were the only people there. Must be force of habit.

 

            It was then, that Shiori stood herself. “I’ll come with them.”

 

            The nurse nodded and waited for them to come to the doorway she was at. She later led them down the halls and into a small quarter with a steel table, rolling stool, and all the other basics you would find at any other hospital. The nurse held the door for them, put on a phony smile- which Hiei glowered at- and let the three of them sink into whatever available fixtures there was. In the end, Shiori took the metal folding chair, the redhead took the steel table, and the fire demon sat on the counter where the sink was.

 

            He couldn’t stop from fidgeting a bit on the table. It was cold, and the feeling of ice penetrated through his thin beige slacks. Kurama found it hard to find that last nerve to keep himself under control. He kept wishing some sort of mishap to take place. A power outage, an earthquake, flash flood, tsunami- shit, he even prayed for Mount Fuji to erupt. Being here… being analyzed by people who had no connection with you at all… Surrounded by doctors who could care less about what you were doing on a one-night stand. This place was demoralizing.

 

            Some wind pushed forward as the door swung inwardly. The physician came inside- paying no particular attention on anything save for the clipboard. “Shuiichi and Hiei?” She mumbled. They both looked up to her call, and discovered a woman who couldn’t ever grasp the meaning of laughter.  Her short bangs completely covered her forehead- straight burgundy hair framing her head squarely.

 

            Professionally, she took the rolling stool that was reachable from under the sink and counter. After retrieving it, she sat on it and continued reading the forms. “I’m Doctor Yuka, Musashi. I see you’re interested in being tested?”

 

            How systematic. It wasn’t as though either of them had much a choice. Since no one replied, Yuka took that as a ‘yes’.

 

            “Well then, please answer me the following questions: have the two of you engaged in sexual actions more than once?”

 

            Kurama shook his head. This was unreal. “…No…”

 

            “Then in the time the both of you have done so, did either of you engage orally?”

 

            “…We kissed…”

 

            She clicked on her pen. “Where?”

 

            “Mouth… hands… chest…” Kurama dragged.

 

            “Did you make contact with the penis or anal passage way?”

 

            Hiei’s eyes widened, and his head whipped around to stare at his lover.

 

            “Yes… but we didn’t- we didn’t go far…”

 

            “Did either of you swallow sperm?”

 

            His hands began groping about the table… he felt naked. “No…”

 

            “Was there any anal sex involved?”

 

            He gripped harder onto the table. “…No…”

 

            “That’s good.” She replied. “The anus is not meant to be penetrated. If it had been, one of you would have had lacerations all along your insides. In such a scenario, blood would have been lost. This is bad because then you are involving not two bodily fluids, but three. That is, anal mucous, sperm, and blood. Chances of infection would have been much graver…”

 

            “I found blood on the bed sheets…” Shiori interrupted. “Could it have been from any other source?”

 

            “It’s a wound.” Hiei answered promptly. “A wound on my side… A cut from an injury.”

 

            “Did you make any sexual contact upon that wound?”

 

            “What kind of question is THAT?” The demon retorted in full offense. “Is there no privacy in this God forsaken world?!”

 

            “Hiei…” Kurama soothed; after calming him by saying his name, he answered the demeaning question.  “…I kissed him there… That’s all…”

 

            ‘Was your mouth open- did you suck?”

 

            Hiei was mortified; Shiori was rendered wordless.

 

            “No- my mouth was closed… only my lips touched…”

 

            “From everything said thus far, I’m assuming you’ve made penis with penis contact… Correct?”

 

            Kurama said nothing.

 

            Yuka raised her eyebrows almost conceitedly. “I see… How recently did the two of you have sex together?”

 

            “…Last week…” The redhead whispered.

 

            “Hm… I’m sorry to tell you this, but I cannot have any positive tests on you until after the period of six months… Unless we find that neither of you are carriers…”

 

            Shiori blinked at that. “Why that long? That’s half a year…”

 

            “Mm… The HIV has a six-month window period from the moment of first contact. That means that the HIV cannot be traced in the blood of the host until that window period is over. The reason for this is because the disease is ‘incubating’. The only way to acquire it is through two bodily openings making contact with the secretion of bodily fluids. Saliva doesn’t count. You would have to swallow a gallon of saliva to be infected. The eyes do not count either. The bodily fluids include: breast milk, mucous lining, seamen, blood, and vaginal acids. The openings include: penis, vagina, mouth, cut, and anus. Mix any of these and you have a possibility of being infected, and that is ONLY if one of you is already a carrier.”

 

            “And if neither of us are carriers?” The fire youkai asked.

 

            “Then neither of you would be infected. Hiei, were you a virgin before hand?”

 

            “Why is that important to you?” He replied snappily.

 

            “Hiei, answer the question.”

 

            He scowled at Shiori in secret. “…I was… The same goes for Ku- Shuiichi…”

 

            Kurama nodded and continued to watch the doctor scribble along her paperwork.

 

            “I still need to withdraw blood from the two of you- to make sure. Once the blood is withdrawn, I also need urine samples- then you may go home. I’ll have the results for you in one week. Until then, I wouldn’t worry about anything, but that doesn’t mean you should take this check-up lightly.”

 

            ‘That’s VERY contradictory,’ Hiei thought, shuffling his legs on the counter.

 

            “I will be back shortly with the needles.” With that, she stood and closed the door behind her. Kurama glanced at his mother, and she stared back at him. He tried to smile, but wound up biting his lip instead. The shorter persisted in sitting still- head turned away and arms folded, completely uninterested. Seeing his unruffled attitude, Shiori chose now to set her thoughts straight.

 

            “You will remain in our household, Hiei.”

 

            His ruby irises moved to their corners.

 

            “However,” the woman proceeded. “You must stay in the guest bedroom for as long as you are with us. Neither of you are to see one another unless I give permission. Whether or not I will grant consent when asked is a matter of how I feel. If either of you chose to meet one another in secret and I happen to find out, then I will not be as benevolent as I am now.” She paused to avert her attention to Shuiichi. “Furthermore, since I’m sure Hiei doesn’t attend any sort of schooling- he shall remain with me at all times when Shuiichi is at school. Once he comes home, Hiei is free to be wherever he pleases about our household, as long as I am also there. In the event that I am not, Shuiichi must stay in his own room until I arrive. I am aware that you have after school activities, Shuiichi, and you have my permission to attend those activities so long as you are within the house no later than ten at night- and you must CALL me beforehand. I know it isn’t fair for Hiei to be inside consistently, so I will allow him to have the same curfew only if you, Shuiichi, are at home. Therefore, will you abide to my rules?”

 

            “…Yes Kaasan…”

 

            “Hiei?”

 

            “…Yes…”